Lok Sabha polls 2024: Madhya Pradesh records 38.96 % voter turnout till 1 pm

by Utkalika Mohanty

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

Madhya Pradesh recorded 38.96 per cent voter turnout till 1 pm in the second phase of polling for six parliamentary seats in the state, according to the data released by the Election Commission of India.

Bhopal, Apr 26: Madhya Pradesh recorded 38.96 per cent voter turnout till 1 pm in the second phase of polling for six parliamentary seats in the state, according to the data released by the Election Commission of India.

The polling for the six parliamentary seats -Tikamgarh (SC), Damoh, Khajuraho, Satna, Rewa and Hoshangabad began on Friday at 7 am in the state.

Of these, Hoshangabad is leading the voter turnout charts with 45.71 per cent voting followed by Satna 40.83 per cent, Tikamgarh 40.21 per cent, Khajuraho 37.89 per cent Damoh 37.57 per cent, and Rewa 31.85 per cent till 1 pm.

Earlier, the polling percentage in the state stood at 28.15 per cent till 11 am and 13.82 per cent till 9 am in the state.

Besides, during the first phase of voting on April 19, the state recorded 44.43 per cent voting till 1 pm and the final voter turnout stood at 67.08 per cent in the first phase of polling in the state. Six parliamentary seats--Sidhi, Shahdol, Jabalpur, Mandla, Balaghat and Chhindwara--went to the polls in the first phase on April 19.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Chief electoral Officer Anupam Rajan addressed a press conference and said the polling for the second phase began at all 12,828 polling stations at 7 am and was going on peacefully across the state.

"Today, the polling in the second phase of LS polls started at 7 am at all the 12,828 polling stations of the six parliamentary seats in the state. The polling is going on peacefully across the state. The voter turnout stood at 28.15 per cent in the first four hours till 11 am in the state. During the previous 2019 general elections, the polling percentage was almost the same in the second phase till 11am," Rajan said.

Mock polls were conducted at all polling station,s 90 minutes before the commencement of voting. During the mock poll, some Balloting Unit (BU), Control Unit (CU) and VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) faced problems and they were replaced.

There were a total of 51 BUs, 70 CUs and 88 VVPATs which were replaced, the officer said, adding that after the beginning of polling, a total of 14 BUs, 12 CUs, 22 VVPATs were changed which reported issues.

Lok Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh are being conducted in four phases. The first phase of polling was held on April 19. The next two phases will be conducted on May 7 and May 13. The counting of votes will be held on June 4.

Madhya Pradesh has a total of 29 Lok Sabha constituencies, making it the sixth-largest state in terms of parliamentary representation. Out of these, 10 seats are reserved for SC and ST candidates, while the remaining 19 are unreserved.

(ANI)

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Pradhan Poses Five Questions To CM Naveen Over 'Poverty And Backwardness' In Resource-Rich Odisha

by Hemanta Pande

Sambalpur, Mar 7: Union Minister and BJP Lok Sabha candidate from Sambalpur, Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday launched a fresh attack against Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, demanding answers to his " five questions" regarding the poverty and backwardness in resource-rich Odisha.

Addressing a press conference, Union Minister Pradhan accused the Chief Minister of being "remote-controlled" by a "Gumasta '' even when he was addressing the election rally.

Pradhan also called upon the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government for an open debate over why the people in Odisha are poor despite the State having fertile land, mineral resources, long sea coasts, rich culture & heritage and more importantly, 24 years of stable government.

The Union Minister, who was accompanied by BJP MLAs Jayanarayan Mishra and Nauri Nayak, then raised five questions to Chief Minister Patnaik regarding the key issues addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Five questions posed by Union Minister Pradhan are as follows:

1. Why are the students leaving schools in Odisha?
2. Why is there a shortage of teachers in schools of Odisha?
3. Why are there no doctors in the government hospitals in Odisha?
4. Why has the primary health care service in Odisha deteriorated?
5. Why has "Dadan" (migration of workers to outside the state) increased in Odisha?

The Union Minister further slammed the Chief Minister by stating that despite making several promises to the people of Odisha, the BJD government failed to provide them with basic necessities such as drinking water and water for irrigation.

Pradhan's statement came after Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his close aide VK Pandian on Monday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remark that "June 4 is the expiry date of the BJD government, saying that "BJP is daydreaming about forming government in Odisha."

Notably, Assembly and Lok Sabha elections will be held simultaneously in Odisha in four phases from May 13 to June 1. The results for both Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha will be declared on June 4.

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Ranveer 'deletes' wedding pics with Deepika? Fans say 'shadi ki album jalaa di'

by Utkalika Mohanty

Mumbai, May 7: The fans of Ranveer Singh on Tuesday were left disappointed after they noticed that the superstar 'deleted' the wedding pictures with Deepika Padukone from his Instagram account.

However, there is no confirmation whether the 'Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani' actor has deleted the photos or has archived them. Ranveer, who has 47.3 million followers on the photo-sharing application, has 133 posts.

The first post dates back to January 24, 2023, which is a Reel video shot for a sportswear brand. The last post appearing on his account is an advertisement with actress Alia Bhatt, which was posted on April 26. However, his account still features some photographs of the couple.

Bollywood's power couple Ranveer and Deepika, who tied the knot in November 2018, in both traditional Konkani and Sindhi ceremonies in Italy had shared love-filled wedding pictures on their respective handles. For the unversed, a few years ago, Deepika had also archived the wedding pictures on her Instagram account.

Meanwhile, some fans took to the comment section of Ranveer's latest post and said: "mene suna shadi ki album jalaa dii?"

Another user said: "kon kon wedding photo delete dekhne aaya hai".

The couple is currently expecting their first baby together.

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Vladimir Putin sworn in as Russia's president for record fifth term

by Utkalika Mohanty

Moscow, May 7: Vladimir Putin took oath for a new term of six years as the President of Russia on Tuesday. He took oath for a record fifth presidential term at an inauguration ceremony held in Kremlin.

Constitutional Court Chairman Valery Zorkin announced that Putin has formally taken office as Russian president for another six-year term, TASS reported.

After Putin took the oath to the people, Zorkin handed him the symbols of presidential power including the presidential insignia, that is, the golden cross of St. George, depicting the Russian coat of arms and a gold chain with the words "Virtue, Honesty and Glory."

Following the oath-taking ceremony, the head of state delivered a speech.

The ceremony marks the start of Putin's fifth presidential term, reported TASS.

Moreover, his first two terms in office lasted four years. However, the presidential term was later extended to six years based on constitutional amendments.

Putin won the presidential elections in March, receiving 87.17 per cent of the votes based on the result of processing 70 per cent of the electoral protocols.

Putin's first six-year presidential term began in 2012 and the second one in 2018. In 2020, the Constitution was changed to make it possible for him to run for president in 2024, TASS reported.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation candidate Nikolai Kharitonov secured the second spot with 4.1 per cent of the votes while New People Party candidate Vladislav Davankov stood third with 4.8 per cent votes.

According to preliminary data as of 6 pm (Moscow time) on Sunday, the voter turnout in the presidential elections, which for the first time took place over three days from March 15-17, stood at 74.22 per cent.

(ANI)

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Lok Sabha polls 2024: Madhya Pradesh records 38.96 % voter turnout till 1 pm

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